Patrick Adiarte obit

Patrick Adiarte, Legendary 'The King and I' Dancer & 'Brady Bunch' Guest, Dies at 81

 

He was not on the list.

Patrick Adiarte, the legendary Philippines-born dancer who appeared in the film version of "The King and I," has died at 81, according to numerous reports by friends on social media.

He had been in declining health.

Adiarte's whipcord precision and verve made him a highly sought-after dancer in the '50s and '60s, and secured his presence in an array of pop culturally significant TV shows, films, and Broadway musicals.

Born August 2, 1943, in Manila, he emigrated to the U.S. and began his career playing Prince Chulalongkorn in the iconic "The King and I" (1956) among a cast that included Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, and Rita Moreno.

He repeated his performance in that year's Broadway revival of the 1951 show.

In 1958, Adiarte was cast as Wang San in Broadway's "Flower Drum Song" by director Gene Kelly. Adiarte made an electrifying appearance on the TV show "Omnibus" in a sequence entitled "Dancing, a Man's Game" alongside Kelly, who said, "If there's gonna be another Fred Astaire, I think it might well be Pat." The two then danced together, demonstrating how tap moves had originated vs. how they had progressed and modernized, with Kelly representing the old and Adiarte the new.

After appearing in the Blake Edwards comedy "High Time" with Bing Crosby, Fabian and Tuesday Weld in 1960, he revisited his role in "Flower Drum Song" for the 1961 silver-screen version starring Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta.

Also in 1961, Adiarte played the Prince in a TV version of "The Enchanted Nutcracker" with Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence.

Adiarte put his dancing (and singing) skills to the test as a regular on the fondly remembered dance series "Hullabaloo" (1965-1966) and also demonstrated a breakneck interpretation of "Gotta Dance!" with Virginia Wing on "Show Street" (1965) at a time when Asians on TV were often relegated to stereotypical roles.

He attempted a singing career with the single "Five Different Girls" in 1965, also cutting the tracks "Where You Gettin' Your Kicks Now?," "Move," and "Don't Let This Room Become Your World" that year.

One of his most instantly recognizable appearances was playing construction gofer David on two of the Hawaiian-themed episodes of "The Brady Bunch" in 1972. Adiarte's character, drafted by his boss to serve as a tour guide to the Bradys, was a modern Hawaiian who didn't believe in "foolish old stories and superstitions," scoffing at the Brady boys for being convinced an idol they found was cursed. Soon after, the family encountered mysterious problems, ranging from a tarantula crawling up Peter's chest to Alice throwing her back out in a hula lesson to Greg nearly drowning in a surfing wipeout.

Adiarte also played Ho-Jon on seven episodes of "M*A*S*H" (1972-1973) and acted on "Kojak" (1974).

After that, he retired from screen work and focused on dance instruction. As of several years ago, Adiarte was still cutting an impressive figure on the dance floor.

At one time he was married to actress Loni  Ackerman.

 

Actor

Annette Funicello in Hullabaloo Vol. 8 (1996)

Hullabaloo Vol. 8

8.0

Video

Singer

Dancer

1996

 

Telly Savalas in Kojak (1973)

Kojak

7.1

TV Series

Leonard Wong

1974

2 episodes

 

Cleavon Little, Joan Van Ark, Nancy Fox, Reva Rose, and James Whitmore in The New Temperatures Rising Show (1972)

The New Temperatures Rising Show

7.1

TV Series

1973

1 episode

 

Alan Alda, David Ogden Stiers, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, and Loretta Swit in M*A*S*H (1972)

M*A*S*H

8.5

TV Series

Ho Jon

Ho-Jon

1972–1973

7 episodes

 

Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)

Hawaii Five-O

7.4

TV Series

David

1972

1 episode

 

Eve Plumb, Florence Henderson, Susan Olsen, Robert Reed, Ann B. Davis, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick, and Barry Williams in The Brady Bunch (1969)

The Brady Bunch

6.8

TV Series

David

1972

2 episodes

 

Bonanza (1959)

Bonanza

7.3

TV Series

Swift Eagle

1971

1 episode

 

Raymond Burr and Barbara Sigel in Ironside (1967)

Ironside

6.9

TV Series

Loi Tala

1970

1 episode

 

It Takes a Thief (1968)

It Takes a Thief

7.5

TV Series

Crown Prince

1968

1 episode

 

Look Up and Live (1954)

Look Up and Live

5.9

TV Series

Patrick

1967

1 episode

 

CBS Playhouse (1967)

CBS Playhouse

7.1

TV Series

Vietcong Guerrilla

1967

1 episode

 

Step Out of Your Mind

Barney

1966

 

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1965)

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!

5.0

Prince Ammud

1965

 

The Enchanted Nutcracker

TV Movie

Prince

1961

 

Nancy Kwan and Miyoshi Umeki in Flower Drum Song (1961)

Flower Drum Song

6.9

Wang San

1961

 

High Time (1960)

High Time

6.0

T.J. Padmanagham

1960

 

Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner in The King and I (1956)

The King and I

7.4

Prince Chulalongkorn

1956

 

Soundtrack

Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)

Welcome to Woop Woop

5.7

performer: "Chop Suey"

1997

 

Nancy Kwan and Miyoshi Umeki in Flower Drum Song (1961)

Flower Drum Song

6.9

performer: "The Other Generation", "Chop Suey" (uncredited)

1961

 

Self

The Songs of 'Flower Drum Song'

7.0

Video

Self

2006

 

Faces of the East: Casting Flower Drum Song

7.0

Video

Self

2006

 

A Classic Evolves: From Print to Stage to Screen

7.0

Video

Self

2006

 

Hullabaloo (1965)

Hullabaloo

7.4

TV Series

Dancer

Self - Dancer

Self - Performer

1965–1966

26 episodes

 

Omnibus (1952)

Omnibus

8.2

TV Series

Self - Solo Dancer (segment)

1958

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

American Masters (1985)

American Masters

8.2

TV Series

Wang San (archive footage)

2009

1 episode